Civilised Sanur (nom nom nom)

Sanur doesn't get a lot of love.

It's not a trendy part of Bali, like Nusa Penida. It's not a popular, party destination, like Ubud or Seminyak. Instead, it's more like a grand old dame, once-glamourous in her youth, but has since settled down into a semi-sedate retirement. I've now passed through three times, and enjoyed it each time.

The best word to describe Sanur is "civilised." It's got tourists, but it rarely feels over-crowded. There's a little bit of hassle from the beachside vendors and massage ladies, but not too much. The waterfront has a lovely walking path that stretches for miles along the seafront, passing both touristy areas with restaurants and hotels, and quieter areas with lust-worthy private villas. There are a few small temples or museums to visit, but mostly I just go for long walks along the seafront, or find a quiet and shady spot on the beach to sit and read, while people bring me smoothies with little umbrellas in.

Quiet part of the seafront walkway

As you might have guessed, there's a good mix of places to eat, from expensive beachside cocktail bars, to Western cafés offering smoothie bowls and brownies, to local hole-in-the-wall restaurants selling spicy fish stew, babi guling, or mixed rice. Yes, there are a few chain restaurants, but there's also tonnes of good, small places to eat, and a refreshing lack of the burgers-pizza-noodles-friedrice identikit tourist restaurants.

A few suggestions of places to eat:

Warung Nasi Ayam Bu Weti, on the north end of the main drag. Very popular place for spicy mixed rice, with limited seating so get there early for breakfast.

Soul on the Beach - Western restaurant and café on the northern half of the main beach. Their tables are very close together so I would prefer not to eat here when it's busy, such as at meal times, but I've enjoyed stopping off here in the mid-afternoon quiet period for a delicious brownie. There's another location, Soul in a Bowl, off the main drag in the southern side of town, but I've never been to that branch.

Warung Babi Guling Sanur - hole in the wall place on the main street, opposite the McDonalds. Not the best babi guling on Bali, but still pretty enjoyable. Because of the noisy main street location, I typically get it to take-away, and eat it relaxing on the balcony of my hotel room.

Sindhu Night Market - taking over a square at the north end of the centre, this market is as popular with locals as it is with tourists. It's also just about the cheapest place to have dinner in Sanur. A packet of rice and vegetable curries from one of the stalls will set you back 15,000 - 18,000 IDR (or about 1/6 or 1/7 of the cost of a brownie and coffee at one of the waterfront cafés)

Finally, I have to say something about Warung Mak Beng, a place at the northern end of town famous for fried fish and really spicy fish soup. It's hugely popular, so even outside of meal times you'll have to queue for a seat. I ate there once, and found it tasty, but I did get sick afterwards, so I'd suggest being a bit cautious (hopefully I was just really unlucky).

Watching the sunset over the volcano